Best WiFi AC Internet Routers

Best WiFi AC Internet Routers

Stream your Movies and TV Shows with less buffering and in highest resolution with an AC WiFi Internet Router

When it comes to streaming media, the thought of which media streamer to buy often takes center stage. Another equally important consideration is which WiFi router should you buy.

For those depending on wireless internet or WiFi to access the internet and watch videos from your media streamer or computer, a fast AC WiFi internet router can make all the difference. Smoother video playback with less buffering or dropped frames is the primary advantage to a fast reliable WiFi Router.What is Video Buffering?Buffering is when you stream a video from the internet, and the movie starts and then stops or pauses several seconds. Then starts up again. This can be extremely annoying and watching an entire movie or TV show like this is something not many want to endure.Video Buffering can be caused by a few other reasons besides your WiFi router.Some of the first things to rule out are:Slow broadband speed - For successful HD streaming a minimum of 5MBS is neededSlow Servers - Sometimes videos will stream faster from alternate server locations. If given the option, always give it a try.Slow Hardware - Often times the smoothest video playback is found on modern hardware. If your computer or streamer is more than a few years old, updating it to a current model can really help.

WiFi AC Internet Router - PROS

Latest and Fastest WiFi Standard - IEEE 802.11ac is the latest and greatest when it comes to WiFi. It offers incredible speeds. Depending on conditions, transfer speeds can even exceed Gigabit Ethernet for file transfers across your WiFi network.Backward Compatible - Rest assured that even though the AC WiFi standard is still new and not all hardware supports it. It will still work fine as it's backward compatible with older equipment that still runs on N and G speeds.Blazing Fast Download Speeds - AC Routers can support wireless download speeds in excess of most broadband plans.Faster than Gigabit Ethernet WiFi Speed - In real world tests, 1.7Gbps and 2.5Gbps wireless transfers can be attained. Comparing this to 802.11n’s max speed, which was 600Mbps, it's easy see why AC WiFi. is so much better.

Stronger Clearer Signal - 802.11ac broadcasts on two radio frequencies at the same time. It will connect to either the 2.4GHz and 5GHz band and automatically bring you the strongest clearest signal possible.Future Proof - Even though your current computer or streamer may not yet support 802.11ac, you can be certain more and more media streamers will support it in the future.

AC WiFi Router - CONS

Expensive - AC Routers are still more expensive than Routers featuring G/N wireless standard. The good news is prices are starting to drop. Lack of Support - Not all current media streamers and wireless devices yet support AC WiFi.

AC WiFI Routers can be found as stand alone models or combined together with cable modems. If you are renting your cable modem, you can save anywhere from $5 to $10 a month by purchasing your own cable modem. By combining both a modem and router together, it eliminates one more piece of hardware and the extra power supplies and Ethernet wires to hook them together.The downside is when it comes time to upgrade, it will cost you more as both components will need to be replaced together. This is why we still recommend buying your cable modem and wireless router separately.

Three Best 802.11ac WiFi Internet Routers

The following AC Routers are all very popular and have excellent reviews. Of the three, the one we own and like a lot is the Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station. The AirPort Extreme has been bullet proof and is very easy to setup from your Mac or PC with the free AirPort Utility.Transfer speeds are great. Since our Roku 3 and Android TV streamer do not yet take advantage of AC WiFi, we plugged them directly into our Gigabit Ethernet network using an Ethernet network switch.

Ethernet is still one of the best way to stream and transfer files across your network as it is not limited by radio interference, barriers and distance.A switch can be mounted anywhere and used much the same as an electrical outlet strip. Just run one Ethernet wire from your Router to your switch. Plug in your devices directly into the remaining ports on the switch and use the full benefit of hard wired Gigabit Ethernet.Click titles to learn more, get current pricing, view specs or read reviews of three best selling wireless AC routers: